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2026-02-18 17:40:22
[Euro dips slightly on Lagarde rumors, New Zealand dollar plunges on dovish stance of Reserve Bank of New Zealand] ⑴ The euro fell slightly on Wednesday after reports that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde planned to step down early. The Financial Times reported that she hoped to leave before next year's French presidential election, but the ECB later clarified that no decision had been made. ING analysts believe this will have limited short-term impact on the euro, as there are still many uncertainties surrounding the succession discussion. The euro fell 0.2% against the US dollar to 1.1831. ⑵ The New Zealand dollar plunged 0.8% to US$0.6001 after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept interest rates unchanged at 2.25% and stated that monetary policy needs to remain accommodative to support economic recovery. This was the first meeting since Governor Brehman took office. The Australian dollar followed suit, falling 0.2% to US$0.7070. ⑶ The US dollar index rose 0.2% to 97.27, marking its third consecutive day of gains. The market is awaiting the release of the Federal Reserve's January meeting minutes later on Wednesday, as well as subsequent durable goods orders data, for clues about the interest rate path. IG analysts say the market is currently in "wait-and-see mode." (4) The yen dipped slightly to 153.73. The US announced that Japan will provide $36 billion in financing for the first three infrastructure projects, part of Japan's pledged $550 billion investment plan in exchange for lower US tariffs. Analysts believe that large-scale direct investment could provide support for the dollar against the yen. The pound held steady at 1.3564, with sticky inflation in the services sector despite overall inflation slowing.
